Seahawks sign oft-injured Mike Iupati to replace J.R. Sweezy

The Seahawks needed a replacement for J.R. Sweezy. But Mike Iupati might not be a long-term answer due to his injury history.

The Seahawks found a replacement for J.R. Sweezy on Thursday by signing left guard Mike Iupati. The last four seasons Iupati played for the Arizona Cardinals and the five seasons before that he played for the San Francisco 49ers. In other words, Seattle management is familiar with a player who has spent his entire career in the NFC West.

The positive is that Iupati graded out much higher than Seattle guards Sweezy or D.J. Fluker in 2018, according to Pro Football Focus. Early in his career, Iupati was one of the better guards in the NFL and was solid through 2016. Plus, Iupati is a large man standing six-foot-five-inches and weighing 330 pounds.

The huge negative, however, is that Iupati has gotten injured a bunch over the last two seasons. Out of a possible 32 games, Iupati showed up in just 11 for the Cardinals. Iupati will be 32 years old when the 2019 seasons starts. While that isn’t old in human years, for an offensive lineman with a lot of recent injuries that 32 years of age might be more like 78 in football years.

Seahawks offensive line coach Mike Solari coached Iupati when they were both with the 49ers, though. Solari will know Iupati’s strengths and weaknesses and will use Iupati in a way that is productive for Seattle. In 2018, Solari worked with Sweezy and Fluker, two other oft-injured players, and made them respectable. Seattle led the NFL in rushing in 2018.

Iupati’s deal is for one year, just as Sweezy’s and Fluker’s were last season. If Iupati can stay healthy, Seattle may have just upgraded the guard position. But if Iupati gets injured again, Seattle will be spending money it could have used on a guard with a lesser injury history. Here is hoping for the former.